Government is planning to extend the Young Entrepreneurship Scheme programme to Fijians who don’t have any tertiary qualifications.

Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama says they will increase the age eligibility to 40 years and raise the grant to $30,000.

Bainimarama says this aims to expose the younger generations’ potential of owning their own business.

“We’re granting them exposure to real-world expertise and we’re giving them the confidence that they can give life to their business ideas in a growing and stable economy. I remember back to the very start of this year, when I had the pleasure of launching our Young Entrepreneurship Scheme, which awarded grant funding to five young Fijians who are currently pursuing their own bold ideas in enterprise.”

Bainimarama is calling on businesses to place their bets on the abilities and talent of our youth as they are the future of the country.

He adds any business that fails to engage with young minds is simply counting the days until its business model fades into irrelevance.

The PM says Fiji’s success is tied directly to how well we engage with young Fijians and work with them to seize unrealised opportunities.